Press Releases

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) released the following statement after the Trump Administration announced a final rule aimed at dismantling protections for migrant children under the Flores Settlement Agreement: “This is an administration that apparently sits around trying to come up with at least one cruel thing they...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) released the following statement after the Trump administration issued a final rule that dramatically changes our country's immigration system and harms immigrant families. The rule redefines who can be barred from entering the United States or become a legal permanent resident based on...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier this week, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and 39 of their U.S. Senate Democratic colleagues sent a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin to urge against unilaterally cutting capital gains taxes for the wealthiest Americans by an additional $100 billion...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier this week, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), and thirteen of their U.S. Senate colleagues sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler urging him to reconsider the decision not to ban chlorpyrifos, a toxic pesticide linked to brain damage in children and...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) issued the following statement after the Trump Administration announced it was terminating the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program (FWVP):“To serve his pathological need to treat immigrants as cruelly as possible, and to undo any program ever created by Barack Obama, Donald Trump is...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) issued the following statement after the Trump Administration announced it was terminating the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program (FWVP): “To serve his pathological need to treat immigrants as cruelly as possible, and to undo any program ever created by Barack Obama,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would promote the conservation of coral reefs in the United States. The Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2019 would reauthorize and modernize the Coral Reef...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) introduced legislation that would promote affordable and reliable electricity from clean energy sources. The Next Generation Electric Systems Act would establish a competitive grant program to modernize the nation’s electric systems to accommodate additional renewable...

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower, issued the following statement after voting against advancing the nomination of General John Hyten to serve as the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff out of the Armed Services Committee. “Over the past three weeks,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –This week, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced the GI Bill Access to Career Credentials Act, which would allow the GI Bill to cover the cost of approved preparatory courses for professional and career license and certification exams. U.S. Representatives Gregorio Sablan (D-CNMI-AL) and Jim...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and ten of her U.S. Senate colleagues introduced legislation that would promote native plant use, research, and protection. The Botanical Sciences and Native Plant Materials Research, Restoration, and Promotion Act would encourage federal land management agencies to hire botanists,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced legislation that would provide business owners financial assistance to renovate their businesses...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced S.Res.284, a resolution calling on the U.S. Senate to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS, which has been ratified by 167 nations and the European Union, lays out the rights and responsibilities of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-N.Y.), and Congressman Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) introduced bicameral, bipartisan legislation, the Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement Act (“IDEA Act”) of 2019. The IDEA Act is designed to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) reintroduced the Covering our FAS Allies Act, which would reinstate Medicaid coverage, also known as Med-QUEST in Hawaii, for citizens of the Freely Associated States (FAS) living in the United States under the Compacts of Free Association (COFA). As a...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) led a Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) hearing to investigate the deteriorating conditions at the United States’ southern border, as well as reports of abuse and cruelty in...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) highlighted the importance of restoring equal access to Medicaid for citizens of the Freely Associated States (FAS) living in the United States during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the United States’ critical national security interests and partnerships...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Kennedy (R-La.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), unanimously passed the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and will now head to the U.S. Senate floor. The CASE...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and nine of their U.S. Senate colleagues introduced legislation to spur economic development and create jobs during the transition into a clean economy. As new and innovative opportunities in the clean energy, infrastructure, and technology sectors continue...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), both members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, reintroduced the Veterans Small Business Export Promotion Act. The bill would amend the Small Business Act to waive up-front guarantee fees for veterans and their spouses participating in the...